Effects that can be too strong?

[heavymetalholic]

Ok well
this thread is a bout the same thing the title suggests.
Effects that are too strong to be performed or should be performed with extreme caution, what effects do you think fit this catagory and what is your opinion on this topic? should these effects be performed or should they just be left alone

I mean tricks like wounded, there are lots of warnings that the effect is very very strong, and can get you hurt.

 

[SHANE BLACK]

I perform wonded quite alot actually check my sig there's a myspace vid I believe of me playing with it at home but I usually perform it with Control and its a crazy deal thats handed to you from your audience I think its all in the petter, presentation and the way you sell it personally. I don't believe in any effect being too strong just an effect that's right for the moment and thats your job as a magician to decide that moment to get the best from your show. Plus it's important to present magic that fits you and your routine and not just a bunch of random tricks to burn up the clock. If you feel like your all over the place your audience will feel it too.

 

[penguincdude]

Control. I wouldn't say it's TOO strong but it's pretty damn strong. The spectators are feeling and seeing you die.

 

[SHANE BLACK]

Control. I wouldn't say it's TOO strong but it's pretty damn strong. The spectators are feeling and seeing you die.

No I think you lost in translation what I was saying. I use Wounded " tears of blood" as a closer to Control. Making the effect a knock out there's nowehere else you can go from there you just finished off your audience. Try it some time you'll love it.

 

[JDENredden]

Wounded, Control, bullet/death related effects, ghost/spirts. Many effects can be too overwhelming or too strong. Make sure you choose your trick for the audience. You dont want to perform Wounded for the Pope.

J.

 

[quick_trick]

I believe effects of psychological suggestion - something as simple as "Thought of Card to Pocket" can be extremely overwhelming. I performed my adaptation of this recently for my friends wife in a short routine emphasising on how much people are not in control of their own thoughts and they are dangerously susceptible to manipulation. The finale of the routine she took the playing card out of her handbag that i had openly placed in there at the very beginning of the set was her named card - the 5 of Hearts. 10 minutes ensued of "Oh my gosh........but I didn't say anything before......I hate you so much Jesse...." she was shaking out of breath. In her words "It's like you raped my brain."

I probably won't perform the routine the same again unless an appropriate situation presents itself. It would be career suicide with a paid gig going down like that. No one wants to be made feel that uncomfortable.

Her husband still leaves 5 of Hearts cards around their house to mess with her.

 

[JDENredden]

I believe effects of psychological suggestion - something as simple as "Thought of Card to Pocket" can be extremely overwhelming. I performed my adaptation of this recently for my friends wife in a short routine emphasising on how much people are not in control of their own thoughts and they are dangerously susceptible to manipulation. The finale of the routine she took the playing card out of her handbag that i had openly placed in there at the very beginning of the set was her named card - the 5 of Hearts. 10 minutes ensued of "Oh my gosh........but I didn't say anything before......I hate you so much Jesse...." she was shaking out of breath. In her words "It's like you raped my brain."

I probably won't perform the routine the same again unless an appropriate situation presents itself. It would be career suicide with a paid gig going down like that. No one wants to be made feel that uncomfortable.

Her husband still leaves 5 of Hearts cards around their house to mess with her.

That raised a good point, people well might be overwhelmed from people reading there thoughts. Or having 'control' over them. Like invading there personal space.

J.

 

[D ICE R]

There are ways to protect yourself though I preform For Andruzzi a lot and I can count the number of times it was too strong for the audience on one hand (two times). The main problem I feel especially when doing something of this nature is the context in which it is framed more than the effect itself.

 

[quick_trick]

The main problem I feel especially when doing something of this nature is the context in which it is framed more than the effect itself.

Exactly what I was getting at but with better words

 

[DLeerium]

The main problem I feel especially when doing something of this nature is the context in which it is framed more than the effect itself.

Agreed, a strong effect framed in a weak way will play very little. Strong effects such as Control, For Andruzzi and various psychological suggestions can be weakened dramatically by how you present it.
e.g. recently I did a simple psychological force, however I treated it as a filler/ throwaway item, and the reaction I got was far less stronger compared to when I play it up.

 

[Mr.MadMan]

A well played out Séance act is devestating!

Mikk

 

[The Tumbleweed]

Any effect played strongly to something your spectator feels greatly about can cause an extremely big reaction.

I remember performing Stigmata to a guy in a take away shop. This is a true story by the way. I could tell just by meeting him that he was a fairly depressed guy, so I tried to work on that, and see what I could do about that, through magic. I did patter about the severity of self harm, mainly wrist slitting, and the way your mind can effect these things. I used his mind as an example on my wrists. The patter made sense, trust me.

At the end, he simply looked up, and whispered, 'Wow'


I thought that was the end of the trick, and the performance, until just this year, where I bumped into him at exactly the same shops. He came up to me and told me that my one trick changed his life forever, and may even stopped him from killing himself.

Don't underestimate the power of magic.

 

[JDENredden]

Any effect played strongly to something your spectator feels greatly about can cause an extremely big reaction.

I remember performing Stigmata to a guy in a take away shop. This is a true story by the way. I could tell just by meeting him that he was a fairly depressed guy, so I tried to work on that, and see what I could do about that, through magic. I did patter about the severity of self harm, mainly wrist slitting, and the way your mind can effect these things. I used his mind as an example on my wrists. The patter made sense, trust me.

At the end, he simply looked up, and whispered, 'Wow'


I thought that was the end of the trick, and the performance, until just this year, where I bumped into him at exactly the same shops. He came up to me and told me that my one trick changed his life forever, and may even stopped him from killing himself.

Don't underestimate the power of magic.

Wow!
(count words)

J.

 

[D ICE R]

My previous post was not to lessen the impact of the effect, just how much the spectators are willing to invest into the effect. If you look at Control and how Wayne plays it up on the his DVD. He used the whole show for this 'possibility' or trying something dangerous. However if you look at the additional performance, the one on the Stigmata DVD, the girls in the park told Wayne that they did yoga so he played on that and the relaxation aspects of it. Now to both audiences they will both experienced the same effect, and I would even say that the effect was as equally strong to all involved. However, as he played it as a dangerous thing to the audience at the party those people were sympathetic towards him. The park though were more accepting of it to begin with as they assumed that he could slow his pulse but when it stopped it became more real to them.

I was not talking about the power of the effect is to the audience but the context that it is presented is the most important thing.

 

[True2Coins]

Wounded was mentioned above a few times. That is an effect that is WAAY too strong. Whenever you nring religion into a magic trick, which is already frowned upon, it's time to stop doing that trick lol. Also, anything that uses bodily fluids. NO NO. I think one effect that is too strong is actually the karate coin. You stab your finger through a coin and it ends up all busted, to me it's too perfect. It is as if you actually did that and then it takes away from the magic portion because you could have actually done it. That's why I switched to the finger gimlet. Another is effects that are super visual. They are too visual and it takes away from the entertainment. I would rather milk a coin vanish than do a coin vanish where you snap your fingers and the coin visually disappears and the trick is over in 4 seconds.

 

[William Draven]

The Web and Paul Harris's Deep Astonishment 2

 

[jake the snake magic]

yah umm def sick by sean fields

 

[jake the snake magic]

Any effect played strongly to something your spectator feels greatly about can cause an extremely big reaction.

I remember performing Stigmata to a guy in a take away shop. This is a true story by the way. I could tell just by meeting him that he was a fairly depressed guy, so I tried to work on that, and see what I could do about that, through magic. I did patter about the severity of self harm, mainly wrist slitting, and the way your mind can effect these things. I used his mind as an example on my wrists. The patter made sense, trust me.

At the end, he simply looked up, and whispered, 'Wow'


I thought that was the end of the trick, and the performance, until just this year, where I bumped into him at exactly the same shops. He came up to me and told me that my one trick changed his life forever, and may even stopped him from killing himself.

Don't underestimate the power of magic.

and thats mad intense

 

[SHANE BLACK]

I think my first point was completley missed so I reinerate. An effect is NOT to strong if chosen wisely for the occassion. Thats the job of the magician is to read their audience, qualify them, and determine what is suitable to give maximum entertainment. There is no so thing as a strong effect just a bad choice in effects for the occasion.

 

[nexusmagic]

Effects that are too strong, hmmm

Producing a fetus, claiming you are god then using trickery to prove it, biting or tearing a birds head off, even to the mundane as a simple Self working card trick. It all depends on how you present it and yourself.